Project Shadow: PERSONA
by Masaru Masuda
Summary: As the humans face the threat of a deadly virus that turns you into a man eating vessel, this is a sign of a war between humans and these creatures called 'Shadows'. Humans start to fall but they finally developed their own weapon that is the PERSONA. Thus, this is the story of a young man involved in a war of Shadows because of the death of his loved ones. AU. Rating 15 for gore.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is an AU of all Persona Universes. I declare that I do NOT own Persona series. Please R&R!**

**This story is just a fiction. Anything that concerns real people, places is just a mere coincidence**

**0-0-0 PROJECT SHADOW: PERSONA 0-0-0**

OP Song: "Filth In Beauty" by The GazettE

* * *

**Project #1: "Will You Kill Someone You Love Because of Love?"**

* * *

**The town that never sleeps, Mikura City during winter**

"Nagase, I expect something better than this!" a loud and gruff voice called out by a middle aged man. The man is the boss of 'Mike Industries' yelled at a young, standing before him with a ferocious glare. "I'm sorry, sir. That will never happen again." The youth said in a low voice while lowering his head. The young man had a dirty blonde hair with an Ahoge (Ahoge is an 'Antenna Hair') sticking out of his messy hair. The boss hit the boy with the paper report the boy just gave a couple of minutes ago.

"You've said that a couple of times and you know what?" the boss took a gulp of his coffee. "What?" the blonde said in a monotone manner. The boss got heated up by the youngster's word and stood up, grabbed him by the collar and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You have failed me for many times, Nagase. And now, you will take the consequence. You are FIRED!" the gray haired boss banged the report book on his table. The blonde youth groaned and fixed his collar as soon as the boss let go of his grip. He fixed his neck tie, too albeit, he still looks messy. As the young man opened the office door, the boss gave out another yell, "Give it up, Nagase! You are a GOOD-FOR-NOTHING! Just go and die already!" the youth, closed the door behind him. He gave out a deep sigh.

Then, a guy with a more polite-looking outfit ran to him, calling him, "Michiru! How's it? What happened?" he is the general manager of Mike Industries or should we call him Michiru's superior?

The blonde youth, Michiru Nagase reacted by only scratching his hair, saying something in the process "I just got fired. Ain't that good?" he walks past the guy without saying anything.

"Ha! You should've my advice back then. If you do, you won't be a loser like this!" the guy said in a very sinister way, pissing Michiru off. The Ahoge boy picked a keyboard from an unoccupied table and bashed the asshole in the face, making him fall to the floor, hands on his face, screaming in agony.

"I double-dare you to call me by that again, asshole. Next time you say it, I'll bust all of your front teeth!" Michiru glared at the frightened Manager with both of his crimson eyes and then walked away from the room, ignoring all the people watching behind him.

* * *

**Streets of Mikura city**

Our loser protagonist walked through the city, filled with lethargy and disappointment all mixed up, building a flame of frustration inside of him. He actually really pissed now but his facial expression isn't showing of any signs of it probably because, he's used to it. "Haargh, what a day…" the young man gave out a long yawn, followed by him scratching his eyes.

*PI PI PI!*

Michiru's phone received a text message. Wondered who texted him at a time like this, he dug his hands into his black trench coat and took out his phone which had a text that reads:

_From: Mii-chan_

_Hello, Michi ~! It is lunch time break right? Let's meet up at the usual café? Today, I'm treating you. Can't wait! Bye bye, * muaach* I love you._

Michiru smiled when he looked at the text. Wiping some snows that fell on his android phone's screen, he put it back to his pocket. It's from Midori Mitsugawa; his girlfriend whom he's went out with for 2 years. Michiru's currently looking for money for their marriage heck, he just got fired and lost all hope. But, he isn't giving up.

His love for Midori is what keeps making him going forward…

* * *

**Pocha Café, Shopping District**

"Where are you…?" Michiru sighed deeply as he keeps touching his Ahoge restlessly. Actually, that was some kind of his habit when he starts to get impatient. He took another sip from his hot black Arabica coffee. That's when he heard Cindy, a waitress from the café exclaimed, "Welcome!" Michiru took a better look and saw a green-haired lady with cyan eyes, wearing a white scarf and a fur coat with a matching color. Yes, that's Midori A.K.A Mii-chan, Michiru's girlfriend.

"Michi!" Midori ran to Michiru's table and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Your lips taste like strawberry!" she said as she sat down. Michiru just gave her a confused look and she she wondered why.

"What? I drink Arabica you know." Michiru pointed at the coffee mug, letting out a soft chuckle. Midori giggled. "So, have you ordered anything?" she asked the Ahoge guy who is tapping on his phone.

"Yup, coffee and Fish and Chips with strawberry sauce." Michiru said nodding. "You eat weird stuff you know that, Michi?" Midori gave out a laugh. "But it's good. Trust me, strawberry sauce is better than mayo, Mii-chan." Michiru said as finally the meal he waited for arrived. Midori ordered English tea and Cinnamon Roll.

As Michiru ate his lunch slowly, he and his soon-to-be wife had a heartful conversation until Midori asked a certain thing, "Hey, Michi, when are we going to get married?"

Michiru choked on his food and quickly drank his coffee. "What's wrong? Did I said anything wrong?" Midori raised her eyebrows. "No, nothing wrong *cough* it's just that I-" before Michiru finished his sentence, he saw that Midori had a Nausea-like symptom. "Mii-chan!" Michiru stood up, worried about Midori. "I gotta puke!" She said before running to the women's restroom to throw up. Michiru quickly ran towards the same direction, ordering a hot water on the way.

The blonde man waited outside of the restroom entrance and finally, Midori got out of the restroom, limping while holding her belly. Michiru quickly gave her a hand and walked her to their table. Michiru lets Midori sat down first and gave her a sip of the hot water he ordered. "This will make you better." He said while Midori drinks the water. "Ow, you're so sweet~" Midori said.

"Sorry that I worried happens a lot lately." Midori said  
"Really? Are you sick?" Michiru asked  
"No, not really. It feels like the kid's kicking from inside."  
"Yeah, right… Wait, what kid?!"  
"You don't know?" Midori said, leering at Michiru in a teasing manner  
"Oh, whoa, whoa… You're pregnant?" Michiru said, surprised. Midori nodded quickly

Michiru could never be happier than this. His vision became hazy as tears started to form in his eyes. He wiped the tears as he heard the great news. I mean he is going to be a dad! But as the memory of 3 hours ago start to trail back to his brain, he felt a sudden breakdown. He gave a long and deep sigh.

"Michi?" Midori looked at Michiru with a concerned look "Is there something you don't tell me?" she asked. Michiru held Midori's hand tightly and said between his sobs. "A-am I going to be a loser for the entire life?"

"Hmm?" she enquired. "I'm a failure, Mii-chan!" Michiru said, almost screaming "I just got fired! How am I supposed to start a family when I, myself is a goddamn loser?" Michiru rested on his hands; start to break down in tears. Midori pulled Michiru closer and hugged him, held him close to her chest.

"Hey, do you feel me?" Midori asked. Michiru suddenly stopped sobbing as Midori continued, "I can feel you. Your warmth. You are not a loser, Michi. Probably it's because the job isn't fit with you. I'll help you find another job 'kay?" Midori looked at Michiru's wet eyes, simultaneously wiped the tears from his face. Michiru smiled again. "Yeah, I feel you. Thanks for the comfort, Mii-chan." Michiru sat back, leaned his entire body on the sofa.

Suddenly, Midori's phone rang. Michiru immediately knows that it's a call ringtone. Midori picked up the phone and spoke to the caller. Michiru tried to eavesdrop but sadly he couldn't. After Midori bid goodbye to the caller, Michiru asked right out, "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Tony Richfield, your GM." She said. The name made Michiru had a spit take. "What? Why did he call you?" Michiru exclaimed. "He said that you're such a loser and I'd better go out with him." Midori replied while taking a bite of her cinnamon roll. "Oh, what the hell?" Michiru reacted the pretty much the same way he always been. "But that's no way I'm going out with him right? I have our kid in my tummy now. Hahaha." Midori winked at Michiru and her answer seems to be the right one. It calmed Michiru down. "Delete his contact, will you? For my sake." Michiru demanded. "I've already done it." Midori answered in a deadpan manner. Michiru bursts into laughter saying, "Haha, you're such a cruel person you know Mii-chan?" but Michiru suddenly realized something on Midori's left arm which was plastered.

"What's wrong with your arm?"  
"Oh, this? A 3rd grader kid bit me last evening. Pretty strange don't you think?"  
"Yeah, it sure is. There are lots of cases like that lately. Better be careful for now on, yah?"  
"Okay, oh, my lunch break is almost over. Welp, bye bye, I love you, Michi."

Midori stood up, kissing Michiru in the forehead and left the café. Michiru's smile turned into his usual blank expression then, despite his joy.

* * *

Michiru got to his apartment. Pretty small but tidy. There's something bothering Michiru's mind for awhile. 'How did Tony get Mii-chan's cell number?' he thought as he takes off his coat, leaving him only in his dress shirt. He sat down and thinks, 'Well, they've met a few times but that's only twice or once? How the hell? Maybe Mii-chan… nononono NO! Don't think like that, Michiru!' He thought as he slapped himself to cut it out. He ran to the shower to clear the depression out of his head.

He filled the tub with hot water and dipped his body into it. "*sigh* what a day…" Michiru sighed. He hummed the song 'Ryoshin Ryoukai' which was sung by Kagamine Rin. Although he is 20, he still likes that kind of song. But heck, he still can't let his mind off from what happened today.

Especially, his doubt with Midori and his GM's relationship…

MIchiru punched the wall beside him hard, releasing his frustration and sadness. Is Midori cheating behind him? Michiru's chest is heated from the inside. He stood up from the bath tub and got dressed in a red shirt and black sweatpants. As he got out of the bathroom, he took out some knives, forks and other sharp object and brought it to the living room.

"You are my enemy, Tony." Michiru growled as he looked at the 30x30 picture of Tony Richfield. Michiru took out the knife and aimed carefully at the pic and threw it. The knife hit the left eye. "Yes! Take that, you punk ass bitch! Here comes nothing!" Michiru threw a fork but he missed. The fork hits the wall that connects this room with his neighbor. "Oops." He said under his breath. He started to hear banging and mumbles in Chinese which he doesn't understand. Michiru sighed and screamed at the wall, "Sorry, Mr. Wong!" surprisingly, the noise stops and ended up with a gunshot.

*BANG*

Michiru raised his left eyebrow. "The fuck?" he tilted his head as he continued his refreshing activity. When he's about to throw another knife, his doorbell rang.

*ding dong*

Michiru frozed for a moment. "Oh, shit. A guest?!" he exclaimed as he quickly pulled off Tony's holed picture and kept the knives and forks but that's when the door was opened. "Hey, can't you wait?! Wha- Mii-chan?" Michiru looked at Midori, standing at the doorway. Only, she was covered by blood. Her green hair is messy and her cheek is bloodied. More or so, her eyes is different. Her usual calm and bright green orbs,

Now it's emitting cold aura…

"Mii-chan, hey, what's wrong?" Michiru took her to the living room and sat her on a couch. She hasn't talked. Instead,

She laughed…

Darkly…

"hahahha… Michi…" Midori mumbled. Michiru tilted his head and walked to the kitchen. "I'm gonna make you some tea, okay?" He said as he hurriedly walks. "Michi~, my head hurts…" Midori said weakly. Michiru, not even bothering to look back, answered while taking the tea sachet, "Okay, I'll get you aspirin. Say, you wanna uh… wash yourself?" Michiru asked and when he looked back, he saw Midori vomiting a black colored liquid. Surprised, he dropped the mug and ran to her.

"Mii-chan, what's happening? Midori?" MIchiru crouched and patted his girlfriend by the head. When Midori raised her head, Michiru's shocked at the sight of blood started to pour down Midori's eyes. "Midori?!" Michiru exclaimed and grabbed her by her left arm and notices that the black fluid is flooding out of the bite mark. 'What the hell? A bitemark can't be this big!' Michiru thought. Midori, having lost of her entire control, strangled Michiru. "W-what happened t-to *Gag* you , Midori?" Michiru questioned the green haired woman between his coughing.

"…you…"  
"*cough* Huh?!" Michiru exclaimed.

"I… Love… You… Michi… Love only you…" Midori mumbled then she giggles and lunged her head towards Michiru's neck, attempting to bite him. Luckily, Michiru was able to react. He kicked her stomach and pushed himself from her. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, pointing it to his girlfriend. "Midori, you don't want to make me do this." He phrased as his hands trembled with fear.

Midori walked towards Michiru, leaving blood tracks all the way. The black fluid drips more now, the liquid seemed denser now. "Midori, stop this!" Michiru shouted. Midori doesn't stop but instead, she hurried her pace. Michiru had nowhere to run now. And with a loud scream, he planted the knife on her left shoulder, able to pin her to the nearest wall. The Ahoge young man panted heavily; not from exhaustion, but from fear. Midori yelled in agony many times and it is so loud that it could break Michiru's eardrums at any second. "I'm sorry, Midori." He muttered.

Michiru took out his phone and called for ambulance. "Hello, this is from Dimlight Apartment room 203. I need ambulance, fast!" Michiru exclaimed panickingly.

"_How many do you need, sir? May I ask your name?"_

"…" Michiru doesn't answer.

"_Sir?"_

Michiru looked at Midori who is screaming in agony…

Midori cried ….

Michiru finish the call and walked up to her. "Midori, it hurts right?" Michiru asked in a very desperate way. "I'm going to put you to ease." He said, smiling sadly as he took out another knife from the table. Michiru sat on his girlfriend's body and aimed the sharp knife at her chest.

"I love you, Midori." Michiru said as the blade impaled her chest, stopping her heartbeat once and for all. Tears started to drop from Michiru's eyes. He cried on the bloodied corpse of his girlfriend.

He killed his beloved Midori and… his unborn child. The man stood up and walked himself backward to a corner of the room. He lets his body slides down and fell on the floor with a seated position. Michiru, after having fallen into despair and guilt, pulled his legs and hugged his knees. "What the FUCK!" He screamed as he banged his head on his knees strongly.

Our Ahoge boy has lost everything including his sagacity. Slowly, Michiru stood up and pulled the knife that impaled Midori's heart. He aimed the knife at his throat, attempting a suicide.

"Midori, I'm such a loser, am I?" Michiru, finally able to collect the resolve to stab himself, was going to thrust his own throat when he heard a voice. It is unclear at first, but the voice sounds clearer afterwards. The voice turns out to be a voice of a baby's crying. Surprised, he turned his vision to where the voice from, that is from behind him. He saw Midori's belly which was bulging due to pregnancy, start to move tremendously. Michiru backed off from the body immediately.

Her belly grew bigger. And bigger. And bigger to the extent that Midori's belly exploded. Blood was sprayed everywhere as a figure of a baby started to crawl out of the dead maiden's body. Michiru's shocked as hell and stared at the sight with horror. The baby is blood covered and had the same black fluid from Midori earlier, overflowing form its mouth. Could it be that Michiru's baby? Michiru just stood there, dumbfounded. He's very confused after everything's that happened today. It's a great impact on both his body and soul. The baby looked at MIchiru with a blank expression. Its eyes have no pupil at all. Just,… white. Michiru started to hyperventilate, thinking that this is just a dream although he's ultimately aware that he's not.

"GAAAAAAAH!" The baby screamed, having this maniac toothy grin plastered on its face. It lunged towards Michiru, but Michiru's legs just frozed to the point that he couldn't move his entire body. It feels like the horrors and emotions building inside him are dragging him to hell.

Just when the baby was about to bite Michiru's leg, the window broke, revealing a man in an eyepatch on his right eye jumped into the room. The baby stopped for a moment and looked at the man.

"What a pitiful creature. You're not supposed to be in this world." Said the man as he took out a Mauser pistol and shot the baby with a loud bang.

*BANG!*

The baby vomited some mixtures of blood and the black liquid. The eyepatch guy quickly kicks the baby to the far end of the room. With a loud thud, the baby stopped moving. Michiru still looked blank, he's hyperventilating and stared off blankly at the baby. The man who's just barged in tapped Michiru on the shoulder and then said, "Get your shit together, man."

The words seem to get Michiru back to his senses once again. Michiru gasped while backing off to a wall, holding the knife in a hostile manner. "Dude, drop the knife. I'm not here to kill you so calm down." The man put his Mauser into its holster around his waist. Michiru observed the man.

He's an average built man with a long and wild strawberry brown hair which reaches the nape of his neck. An eye patch that covers his right eye. He's wears a green coat with a wide collar, complete with prominent, spiky, brownish white fur trimming lining the hood, over a white shirt, black pants and whitish sneakers, each adorned by a pair of light green stripes. "Yo, the name's Mikito Sakurai. You can call me Mikito." The man introduced himself.

"You. What did you do? What are those things?!" Michiru asked panicking  
"I killed it. The same way you killed that girl."Mikito pointed at Midori's dead body. Then, Michiru ran to Mikito and grabbed him by the collar. "What the fuck do you know?! Huh? Answer me!" Michiru yelled at Mikito who looked at Michiru with a blank expression.

"Those things. We call them **Shadows**." Mikito paused as Michiru put him down and then continued, "It all started 4 years ago when a meteorite fell to the earth. At Hawaii to be exact. The Meteorite, unexpectedly, carries a very infectious virus with it. The virus can turn you into a man-eating creature. Well, that's about sums it up." Mikito said as he took a cigarette and lit it up.

"What? I don't seem to grasp the root of this Shadow thing. If the pandemic starts 4 years ago, why didn't the global world know about this? It's never been told." Michiru asked.

"Well, think of this rationally. What will happen if the people around the world know that a lethal virus is being broadcasted worldwide? Well, ANARCHISM, of course will happen. When that happens, the earth will come to a post-apocalyptic era." Mikito replied after taking a long drag of his smoke.

"But how come people never notice it if the Pandemic happens worldwide?" Michiru asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Because the world government hires people like me. **HUNTERS. **We are trained ops, specializes in pulverizing Shadows. We are deployed worldwide to fight these abomination creatures." Mikito said. When he's about to say more, there's a bang on Michiru's door.

"We are from Mikura City Police Department. Open the door!" said a man in front of the door. "Holy Shit, you called police?" Mikito looked at Michiru with an annoyed look on his face. "Hell no, man! Probably the reception called for one when she heard the ruckus." Michiru explained. Mikito sighed in disappointment as the police kicked the door open and pointed the gun at both of them. "Freeze!" the two police officers aimed at the both males. One of the cops looked at Midori's gutted body on the floor and quickly exclaims, "You are charged of homicide. You guys are under arrest!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We did nothin'. She's already dead by the time we got here. Right? Uh…" Mikito looked at Michiru.

"Michiru Nagase." The ahoge male whispered. Mikito gave him a glare which looks like he's saying 'Shut up!'

"You two, hands where I can see them!" The cop said. Michiru raised both of his hands however, Mikito incidentally pulled out his Mauser. The two cops got panicked in second and exclaimed, "Y-you're against the officer of law?!"

"No no no! Sir, this is just a- look out!" Mikito exclaimed at the sight of the baby Shadow still moving and took a grab on one of the cop's leg. "Don't let it bite you!" Michiru ran to the officer but it's too late, the baby's reaction is faster than either one of theirs; the Shadow baby bit the cop's leg that it bleed out. "AGHH!" the cop screamed loud while his friend shot the baby but because of the panic situation, the cop couldn't aim right and emptied his S&W Model.37 without landing a hit on the baby.

Mikito walked to the cops and pulled his Mauser's trigger on the baby's head. Brain splattered all over the floor. The two cops panted heavily and fell flat on the floor. Mikito, without wasting any other second, pointed his Mauser at the bitten cop. "What are you-"

*BANG!*

Before Michiru finished the sentence, MIkito killed the police officer. The other officer, he ran out of the building hurriedly. MIchiru, who's previously watching in horror, ran to Mikito, grabbing him by the jacket. "What the hell are you doing?!" Michiru yelled at the eye patch wearing man. Mikito quickly pushed Michiru back and straightened up his jacket. "Is that wrong? He should be grateful instead." Mikito looked at Michiru's got enraged in seconds Mikito finished his words.

"KILLING IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG!" Michiru yelled.

"Oh, how ironic. You just killed someone over there!" Mikito pointed at Midori's corpse, "Besides, if I don't kill him, he'll just end up like that girl of yours!" Michiru quickly looked down, staring at his own bloody hands. He's commited a murder. The blonde man fell to his knees, still staring blankly at his hands. Mikito can't help but sigh at the sight. The red-ish haired man took a deep drag of his cigarette.

Michiru punched the floor and shouted, "WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN?!" he kept hitting the floor while weeping, blaming everything to himself for not protecting Midori. Mikito came up to him and said while his eyes traced down to Michiru, "So, what are you going to do now?" Michiru let out a sigh and implied,

"Leave me alone…"

"Tch..!" Mikito turned around heading for the exit door when his phone rang. The long haired man quickly picked up the call,

"Yeah, what?... just finished here… MK.3? Wait, did you say 5? Oh great, this shit is getting worse. FUCK them!" Mikito exclaimed on the phone and ended the call. "Hey blondy! We gotta get out of here!" Mikito shouted from the doorway. Michiru didn't give a response which pisses Mikito off and resulting Mikito to grab MIchiru by the collar, "Listen you, there is no reason for regrets. What's happen, let it go, dammit! Now do you want to live or…" Mikito puts Michiru down and aimed his Mauser up the blondie's forehead. "…I'm gonna kill you right here." Mikito whispered. As he was about to pull the trigger, Michiru instinctively grabbed Mikito's arm and pushed Mikito backward. "You'd better explain everything after this!" Michiru shouted as he grabbed his trench coat form the couch. Mikito grinned satisfyingly, "That's what I want to hear!"

* * *

The two men ran out of the building, dashing through the snowy streets. However, Michiru still felt guilt inside his heart. It's as if he's going to explode in any moment. He tainted his hands with the blood of the love of his life. But is it true? Midori's death? Does it have been planned by the god? There must be an explanation to why must Midori die tonight! Those questions have been resonating inside Michiru's brain for awhile when he struck up a question to Mikito, "Hey Mikito, why are we running away?" Michiru asked between his puffs of exhaustion.

"We are being targeted."  
"By whom?"  
"Shadows. The ones that's targeting us are MK.3's, an advanced form of a Shadow. There are 5 of them."  
"Why target us? I don't seem to get this!" Michiru sighed.

Mikito threw him his phone which was dialing a number. When it went through, Michiru sticks the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Michiru said.

"_Hey, who's this?"_ said a girl voice which was on phone.

"Isa, give some lectures about Shadows to this guy on phone! You got 5 minutes before we arrive at the designated location!" Mikito shouted.

"_Who's 'this' guy you're talking about?"_ the girl, Isa asked.

"Hello, it's Michiru. Nice to talk to you, miss. What Shadows that are chasing us?" Michiru pointed out his question without wasting any time.

"_There are around 5 located on you guys' tail. You know about Shadows huh? Maybe this won't take too long after all. Shadows are beings classified as diagnosing a disease called 'Shadowfication'. It's very infectious so, take care not to let even a single drop on your wounds. Normal humans will turn into Mk.1 Shadows in about 1 day but this is Mk.3 we're talking about so it infects faster." _Isa answered.

"So, you classify these genes' infectivity, huh."

"_Precisely! You learned Biology right? Shadow Genes, like other viruses, it also evolves. Through Mk.1 Shadows, they still probably look human like the zombies you see at TV, but starting with Mk.2, the virus, produces black fluids that will differentiate your cells and organs."_

"Why do you guys tell me this? Isn't that information's top secret? Why don't the governments tell their public about this very important piece of info?! Answer me that, miss." Michiru seems to raise his voice due to the emotion stirring inside him. Frustration, disappointment, sadness, all mixed into one.

"_Hey, I got a name. It's Isa Nadeshiko. Use your goddamn head! If you can prevent conflict, why don't you do it? That's why the Government conducts a research regarding Shadow Genes and deployed Shadow Hunters like Mikito!"_

"But, Nadeshiko-san-" Before Michiru finished talking, Mikito swiftly snatched the phone and talked, "Isa, we're near the designated point."

"_Roger that. There are 2 teams on SDF, waiting to cover you up. Oh, Miya's on standby, too." _

"Well, job well done, I'll just have to lure those sons of bitches into the warehouse and kill it. Okay, get the picture." Mikito grinned as he reloaded his Mauser while running.

"_Wait! Mikito, there's another one around 7 meters behind you right now. Take care not to fight in public." _ Isa screamed at the phone, loud enough for Michiru to hear what happened. The blonde quickly turned his head and saw Mr. Wong, his Chinese neighbor running towards him with blood rolling down from his eyes. Michiru, immediately knew something was wrong with him and dodged left. Mikito quickly kicked the old man into an alley near that place.

"Wait over here." Mikito ordered. Michiru nodded as a reply. The eye patch guy took out his Mauser which he just reloaded recently and walked into the alley, shooting the seemingly Mk.1 Shadow in the legs, immobilizing it. As he reached the distance of point blank, the Shadow swung its hand and hit Mikito's gun which made it fell off from his hand. The Shadow took the chance to hold Mikito by the neck, attempting to bite him like what Midori's about to do. But as the teeth of the Shadow's about to touch Mikito's skin, its abdomen was stabbed by 3 horizontally-lined blades.

"I also got melee you son of a bitch!" Mikito dragged his claw-blade from the Shadow's stomach to its, chest, pulling a palm-sized red orb out of its chest. In an instant, the Shadow fell, laying flat on its stomach as blood started pooling on the alley's door.

"What is that?" Michiru came to Mikito who had an orb stuck at his claw-blades. Slowly, the orb started to melt down, and popped like a water balloon only this one spurted out thick crimson fluid.

"It's the core of a Shadow. To kill it, you have to destroy the core. Actually,…" Mikito said as he walked out of the alley, "…It's the differentiation of a human's heart." Mikito took his Mauser from the ground.

* * *

**Mikura Town, Abandoned Public Warehouse**

The two males reached the Public Warehouse and were greeted by a man in an SDF uniform. "Mr. Orbeye? Hurry this way!" the man said. Mikito ran following the SDF unit with Michiru at the back.

"I thought your name is Mikito Sakurai? Why is he calling you Orbeye?" MIchiru whispered at the taller eyepatch wearing man.

"Orbeye is just a codename. Every Hunters have them." Mikito said, thrashing his cigarette. "You'd better not run off by yourself from now own since this is going to be a battlefield."

"Huh? What do you mean?!" Michiru asked when suddenly he heard a wolf-like cry. Mikito gritted his teeth and paced up his running. Michiru, Mikito, as well as the SDF member came into a huge warehouse and Michiru saw something terrible. Two wolf shaped creature which was as big as a human adult, pinned down with nets on them. The wolf also had black liquid coming from their nostrils and mouth. The black fluids themselves already proved Michiru that they are Shadows. "Are these the Mk.3 Shadows you are talking about, Mikito?" Michiru asked the brown haired man as he nodded as a response.

"Where are the other 3?" Michiru asked again. Mikito looked at Michiru and sighed, "Well, actually, these Shadows have patterns on finding their prey. You see, that Shadow girl in your apartment actually had a Shadow Provoker flowing through her Shadow Gene cells and…" Mikito raised Michiru's chin and saw a stack of the black colored black which belongs to Midori. "Wait, you're saying that they're after me?" Michiru yelled in disbelief. "You should've told me sooner! I could've washed this back there you know!"

"Well, too bad that it's too late for that. You're going to be dead if you stay there, anyway. There was too much Shadow blood sprayed all over your Apartment room." Mikito replied calmly and readied his claw-blade. "Capt, let's do these two bitches here first." Mikito pointed his Mauser at the captured Shadows. "Yessir!" the SDF captain saluted and ordered his men to fire their MP5s at the 2 wolf Shadows to their death.

"2 down, Archer." Mikito said on his phone.

"_Well, it's rare for you to call me by the codename, Orbeye. But it's too late for that. The cry just now attracted more Shadows there. These Mk.3 Shadows, codename: Fenrir, have a special trait that is to call for help in dire situations. Just like what will wolves normally do."_ Isa, whose codename is Archer explained through the telecommunication system.

"You should've told me sooner, dammit." Mikito sweatdropped.

"_Okay, here comes another 4 Fenrirs, plus 7 Floyds coming your way!" _ Isa informed. "Men, guns at ready, we have guests!" Mikito shouted and his call quickly make the soldiers from both unit, reloaded their empty magazines.

Michiru, looked at the night sky when he notices large black colored birds coming their way. "Mikito! Flying Shadows!" Michiru alerted Mikito and he quickly ran to the entrance to make sure. "The Floyds are here!" one of the SDF force's unit yelled. "Fenrirs form 3 o'clock! Sir, we're surrounded!" the SDF unit from Charlie team informed his leader. The morale of the SDF troops fell drastically as they start to panic.

"Calm the hell down! We have Majou stationed here remember? Charlie team, you and Majou handle the floyds while me and Bravo team handle the Fenrirs! Now move your asses! Go, go, go!" Mikito ordered and the soldiers' panic situation seems to ceased due to his perfect leadership. "Who is this 'Majou'?" Michiru whispered at Mikito.

"One of the most amazing Sniper I've ever met." Mikito pointed at the roof of a warehouse across. Michiru can see a girl with black hair covered by a pink bandana holding a Sniper rifle in a lying position. She wears a white long-sleeve shirt with a Kevlar vest covering her body. "'Majou' is her codename. Her name is Miya Kamijou. She's from my team , too." Mikito tapped on his phone and talked to the phone. "Hey Majou, cover our asses will ya?"

"_Wilco" _Miya gave a simple reply to Mikito as she starts to shoot the Pterodactyl shaped Shadows which were flying with high speed. Miya knows that this is a tough job but she know she can do it and pulls the trigger without hesitation.

*bang!*

Miya manually extracts an empty cartridge and chambers a new round in her bolt action M40A3 sniper rifle as the first shot kills one out of seven. The Charlie team is almost wiped out due to their unprofessionalism.

The 4 Fenrirs which attacked the warehouse which Bravo team is in, started to prey on each one of the SDF members. "Shoot the fuck out of it!" one of the soldiers exclaimed but was soon wiped out by a slash of the Fenrir's sharp claw. Though, it doesn't look really deep, Michiru was shocked because just in one strike, the claws were able to rip through the flesh of the soldier's abdomen, revealing his intestines which flooded out of his stomach.

* * *

The fight goes on, and team Charlie was completely wiped out and Miya's the one remaining. Back at the warehouse, the soldiers from Bravo team can't do a single thing against the hardness of the Fenrirs' skin and their lethal speed. "Archer, what the hell's going on?!" Mikito shouted at his mission Operator.

"_These Fenrirs… *gasp* they have manufactured a hard layer of skin. Bullets won't do anything against it. Use melee!" _Isa screamed.

"Men, switch to combat knives!" Mikito ordered as he himself also equipped his claw-blade. The soldiers charged at the 4 Fenrirs but were immediately wiped out; Mikito was left with his final choice, his going to make a last stand. "Michiru, stand back." Mikito said calmly, trying to concentrate every fighting skills he has. One of the Fenrirs jumped at Mikito but he dodged and planted a good thrust at the belly of the Fenrir, pulling out its core at the same time, 2 others are charging at Mikito simultaneously but was blocked by Mikito who used the dead Fenrir's carcass. He quickly slashed the throat of the two Fenrirs in a time. "One remaining." He muttered.

The last Fenrir, had no other choice. But that's what Mikito thinks. The Fenrir ate the body of the other 2 Fenrirs, devouring their core. "Wait, that's!" Mikito is surprised as well.

The last Fenrir cried loudly after it's done gobbling the 2 other cores. The black fluid started to burst more out of its mouth and its ribs ripped through the skin of its chest. The legs and body of the wolf got bigger and more muscular. As the last transformation, 2 wolf heads appeared from its shoulder.

Michiru jumped back instinctively and Mikito got worried all of the sudden. "Isa, it's Mk.4. A Cerberus. It's going to be hard. Can I use 'it'?" Mikito spoke to Isa through the phone.

"_A Mk.4?! I can't believe this. Regarding to your genetic codes and synchronization with Shadow Gene, all status green. Mikito, you're allowed to commence the 'PERSONA Summoning Sequence'" _

"Roger that. Now I need some light." Mikito started to look around for an area with light for some reason and he found it near the doorway. He quickly dashed to the entrance.

"What are you doing?!" Michiru shouted from afar.

"I'm going to use my special weapon. Just watch!" Mikito said as he almost near the light but the Cerberus is also quick and it jumped infront of Mikito. Mikito got hit by the wave of the Cerberus and flew off a few metres back. Michiru ran to him. "You okay man?"

"Just barely."  
"What are you trying to do?"  
"My special weapon needs shadow to appear."  
"What?"  
"Just help me think of something! We need light to create shadow but that dog bitch is covering the light with its huge ass."  
"light?" Michiru looked at his sorroundings and saw a dead soldier grabbing something.

"I got an idea. You go first and ready yourself." Michiru ran to the corpse and took the something from his hand. Mikito saw what Michiru did and made an evil smile. "Nice, Michiru"

Mikito stood up against the Cerberus and took out a red dice from his pocket. "Now!" he exclaimed. Having heard the signal, Michiru threw a flashbang and shot a hole at it with a Glock.17 from the soldier.

*Kaboom!*

Light fills the area in an instant and Mikito walked slowly as he saw his own shadow. He threw the dice to the air and said,

"You Shadows aren't allowed here. **Whenever there is light, there will be shadow. Whenever there are Shadows, there will always be a…"**

Mikito caught the dice and completed his sentence, "**PERSONA**"

Mikito's Shadow suddenly made a figure of a humanoid with searing flames from its head. It has a red suit on. The figure roared loudly.

"Graaawr!" the roar made the Cerberus stepped back a bit.

"Let's go, ASHER!" Mikito exclaimed and the red figure charged at the huge Cerberus.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**Onto the next** **Project: "Awakened"**

**So how do you think? Like? Just press the review button or just favorite this story. I'll update soon okay?**


	2. Chapter 2

**0-0-0 PROJECT SHADOW: PERSONA 0-0-0**

* * *

OP Song: "Filth in the Beauty" by the GazettE

* * *

**Project #2: "Awakened 1"**

* * *

Michiru fell on his knees, surprised at the sight of Mikito's shadow started to transmogrify into a figure of a humanoid with a triangular faceplate followed with sears of flames which resembled hair behind its head. It wore a red suit over a plain black cloth which covers its body.

"Wh-what is THAT?!" Michiru yelled at Mikito's direction, hinting some of his frustration of information lack.

"Leave this to me! Asher!" Mikito screamed which was likely to be the red humanoid figure's name, Asher. In an instant, Asher dashed towards the Cerberus and ignited a wheel of flame to the beast. The Shadow growled in agony as the fire burning its body, damaging its outer tissue. Taking this chance, Mikito ordered Asher to rip one of the Cerberus' three heads. Digging its hands to the head of the hound Shadow, Asher ripped the center head into two bits.

It took awhile for Michiru to realize that Asher doesn't have any legs. Curious, he asked the brown haired man, "Hey eye patch, that thing, it floats in the air!"

Mikito sighed and scratched his hair with slight annoyance. He's too lazy to explain but he think that he should or else Michiru won't stop nagging about it. "Well, how do I explain this? It HAS legs but they don't appear 'cuz its legs are connected to my Shadow." Mikito pointed at his own shadow beneath his sporty sneakers. His shadow really DOES connect to Ashers legs.

"So what is that thing?" MIchiru threw another question.

"That's what I've been meaning to show you. It is a **Shadow-based weapon, **the **PERSONA**."

"That thing is like those Shadows?!" Michiru came back on his feet and walked closer. Mikito raised his shoulders.

"Graaaawr!" the Cerberus roared in pain and reacted by swinging its paws randomly at all direction. Unfortunately, one of the swings was able to make a clean hit at the caught off guard Asher. The bash itself is powerful that Asher flew meters away to the far back of the warehouse. Mikito groaned in pain and held his left shoulder. "Ugh! It got me, eh?"

"What's going on?" Michiru looked at Mikito's now bleeding left shoulder.

"When a PERSONA is inflicted damage, it indirectly affects the user, too… Look at Asher… His left arm joints are destroyed… That damn dog." Mikito looked at the Cerberus in an irritating manner.

Hearing the word 'destroyed', Michiru thought that Mikito's left arm will not be able to be used anymore and before he could say anything, Mikito said, "Talk again, I'll fuck your skull up. I know what you are about to ask. My left arm is just taking a light damage, see?" Mikito flipped a middle finger. Michiru frowned as if saying, "He's not being serious enough." Michiru looked at Asher and saw the wound made by the Cerbeus. It was very deep and is bleeding badly.

"The one who is taking a severe damage is none other that Asher. Oh, shit!" Mikito pushed Michiru out of the way and it saved their lives from the Cerberus which just lunged and trying to bite their heads off. "You piece of dog shit! So one head is not enough, huh?" Mikito grumbled, "Then I'll just take the last two, yah?!" he exclaimed while he pulled out two mousers from their holsters under Mikito's jacket.

Then, Mikito's phone, which was in Michiru's hand, rings. The blonde might as well pick the call since it is Nadeshiko "Archer" Isa calling. Michiru clicks the accept button and put it in loudspeaker so that Mikito can hear it too.

"_I get it now! When the Fenrir devoured its kind, it evolves into a Mk.4, that is the Cerberus. Not only that, the core of the Fenrir separated into 3 which were inside each of its heads."_ Isa said through the phone.

"You're late on that one!" Mikito grunted as he rushed to the Cerberus with Asher following from behind. Mikito make a quick side step and spams the triggers quickly, aiming the bullets at the Cerberus' eyes. Asher approaches from above, attempting to strike one of the heads while the Cerberus is still distracted by Mikito. But the other head notices Asher and reacted by bashing Asher's body to the ground with its huge paw. Mikito flinches by the pain but jumps back immediately knowing that the other paw is attacking him.

Mikito coughed up some blood but surprisingly, he still can stand on his feet. "Shit! Fuck! I think I broke some ribs!" Mikito cursed. "This is going to be a hard fight."

* * *

Michiru's POV

Mikito's hurt. I know he can't win this thing but if he loses here, we'll both die. I have to do something! Think of something!

Suddenly, a memory of Midori appeared. Yes, I remember it that day. It was Christmas and the first night we went out together. It was peaceful. Yes, it's peaceful at least until she died by the hands of the man she loves. I killed Midori. What the fuck am I thinking?!

I snap out of my deep thoughts and quickly run to a submachine gun lying on the floor. I pick it up and position myself to shoot the Cerberus. Seriously, what am I thinking right now? My priority should be staying alive and see the sun tomorrow!

I am about to pull the trigger but I saw a figure of a girl running this way. The girl slides through under Cerberus' body and shoots the pump-action shotgun in her hand several times before jumping back to Mikito's side.

"Oi, you're late, Miya!" Mikito complains at the ravenette.

"Miya is sorry." She nods. So that's 'Miya Kamijou' Mikito was talking about back there, huh. But why does she talk in a third person style? The girl takes off her Kevlar vest and throws it to the side.

"You sure about that?" Mikito raises his eyebrows while reloading his Mausers simultaneously.

"That thing won't protect Miya from dog bites." Miya says in a deadpan manner and Mikito chuckles dryly. What is going on with them?

"Give an order, squad leader." Miya pumps her shotgun and refills the cartridge of her Ithaca.37 shotgun.

"We take that puppy's big fingers from Asher. Dingo squad, move out!" Mikito exclaims as he dashes to the Cerberus' direction alongside Miya who runs behind him, covering Mikito from Cerberus' attacks.

I am dumbfounded by the scene I'm witnessing. They both fight in a sync rate. As expected from combat-professionals. Mikito swiftly evades the Cerberus' attacks and is able to land a cut from his claw blades to the right eye of the Cerberus. On the other hand, Miya runs to the left side where Asher was pinned to the ground by Cerberus while Mikito distracted its attention. Miya pulls the trigger several times, meaning to shoot the Cerberus' leg but it is intercepted by Cerberus' other head which lunges to Miya's direction, catching her off guard.

"Ack!" Miya exclaims as her body hits the wall near me due to the impact. I notice that the Cerberus shifts its gaze to my direction and quickly, I ready the MP5 submachine gun in my hands, aiming it at one of the two Cerberus' heads.

"Look at here, you bitch!" Mikito shoots at the Cerberus with his Mauser, distracting its attention. The Cerberus growls and stomps at Asher under its paw with a loud bang. Then I see Mikito coughing out some blood and fall on his knees. Why can't he just order that Asher to burn this dog to ash? I feel Miya's hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry… We'll handle this. Your name is Michiru-san, correct? Miya will beat that thing." Miya pulls out the cross of the rosary she wore and held onto it tightly. Is she summoning a PERSONA?

"Come, _**Cecil**_!" the black haired lass exclaims and I see her shadow moving around and start to gain shape as it resurfaces. This PERSONA, if I hear it right, her name is Cecil. It looks like a skeleton wearing a Christian nun outfit and is crossing its fingers. Strange enough, only her upper body appeared. But I know there's no time to ask so I'd better walk back.

"Be my eyes and power." Miya mutters as she positions herself in a kneeling shooting position. Her PERSONA moves its hands and held Miya's arms. Suddenly, I notice blue eyeballs start to form in Cecil's skeletal empty eye sockets which freaks me out a little.

"**Killer Hornets!**" Miya exclaims and pulls the trigger. Although Shotgun shots are supposed to be spread shots but this time is not. Miya's shot seems like the micro pieces of the bullet are focused at one point, which is the Cerberus' leg.

After taking several shots from Miya, Miya is able to sever the joint of the Cerberus' paw, resulting Asher to be freed. Quickly, Mikito waved his arms at the air as if calling Asher to his side which surprisingly, Asher does. The red coated PERSONA focuses its flames into his fist and launched the punch to the nearest Cerberus head, resulting it to explode into pieces.

"GRAAAAWR!" only one more left! If Mikito destroys it, we can survive! As Mikito orders Asher for another attack, I notice the dog Shadow is about to swing its paw at Asher from the back. I reacted instinctively and in split seconds, I rolled to the front and shoot the Cerberus by the eyes, making it flinch backwards. Mikito glanced at me showing his gratitude for a second then he gestured Asher to push the Cerberus outside of the tight warehouse.

The Cerberus in now outside and strangely, it starts to act more vicious and fierce. I tilted my head and is about to ask Miya when she screams at Mikito, "What is Mikito doing?! Mikito's taking it to the moon light!" I see… So that explains everything. Shadows gain power from the moon light. I kinda understand it now.

"I know! It's easier to kill it that way! I only got 45 seconds left!" Mikito exclaims as he runs outside with Asher following from behind. "45 seconds for what exactly?" I mumbled subconsciously. Well, loud enough for Miya to hear. "Miya and Mikoto and others have limits. Miya cannot use Cecil more than 15 minutes." She explains.

Ahh… I see… So they have time limits, huh. Wait, Mikoto has only 45 seconds? I am about to look at Miya, demanding her to fight but when I glance her way, she's already gone. Apparently, she's already outside, backing Mikoto up with her skillful gunslinger style. She now wields two Berretta 92s, leaving her shotgun hanged by a belt over her shoulder. Just what are these people?

"Fuuuuuuuck!" Mikito curses while running towards the Cerberus, hitting the trigger quickly. I suppose he's trying to shorten the distance and strike with the time he has. Mikito swiftly dodges the attacks Cerberus throwing at him. Its movements are getting unpredictable since it's in ecstasy heck, I can't do anything but to believe in them.

"Mikito!" Miya exclaims as she shot the eyes of the Cerberus, blinding it. Mikito seems to hear the signal and makes a high jump.

"5" he mutters. Mikito starts counting down as his body dives down the ground and spins his body towards Cerberus. The 3 blades of Mikito's clawblades are able to rip through the flesh of Cerberus' head, revealing a bulging red orb. I presume that it is the core. "2… Go Asher!"

The crimson PERSONA dives at high speed, attempting to attack but Cerberus' claws manage to make damage at Asher's faceplate. Mikito, too feels the pain. I see 3 bloody lines appeared across Mikoto's face which Asher's just suffered.

Asher growls as flames start to cover its arms and throws a fireball at Cerberus. "Take this! **Infernofobia!"** as the fireball hits Cerberus; the fire burned its entire body, turning it to ash.

As Mikito landed on his feet, he reaches his limit. Asher dissolves into thin air and Mikito's shadow turned into normal. I can hear Mikito's heavy breathings and suddenly, he loses his balance and about to fall but fortunately, Miya caught him.

"This is Dingo 1 Orbeye here. All target eliminated." Mikito speaks to his phone.

"_This is Dingo 3 Archer_, _I've confirmed your situation. Mission objective achieved, Hunt successful. Good job."_

* * *

NORMAL POV

Michiru just witnessed an intensive battle between humans and Shadows. Strangely, he believed every word, everything he saw. But actually, he had doubts and was still curious on why did they tell him about Shadows which were supposed to be top secret? Could it be that he's the target and they want to help him? Well, that's not it. Mikito fell on the ground, panting heavily.

"Man, what a day…" he muttered. He'd seen too much today. Or rather, experienced too much. His heart was filled with anger, hatred, disappointment, and… sorrowness. At the mean time, he doesn't know what will he do or what's the purpose of living. Midori's gone, he lost his job, everything! Michiru actually really wanted to scream out loud, releasing his frustration but just couldn't bring himself to do it. Then he felt someone closing in.

"Yo, you're okay?" Mikoto said as he took a long drag on his cigarette. Michiru stood up and nodded as a response. Looking to the right, Michiru can see Miya calling someone through somekind of device attached to her ear. Like a handsfree.

"Why didn't you use that move earlier? You're giving me some serious shit to deal with. I'm worried as fuck, man." Michiru cursed at Mikito but the eyepatch guy wasn't affected. Heck, he also cursed a lot.

"Well, you see… Shadows are like nocturnal animals. They only go for the kill when moon appears. This explains that moon is the power source for Shadows. PERSONAs are the same. Get it?" Mikito explained the detail half-heartedly to Michiru which bothered him.

"Actually, I don't want to hear it from YOU but I got no choice…" Michiru sighed and scratched his head.

"Yeah, says HE who didn't do anything during the battle." Mikito implied sarcastically. That really does it. Michiru got mad and exclaimed,

"Who's the one that saved your ass back there?"  
"My own ass!"  
"Oh yeah? We have 2 eye witnesses here." Michiru crossed his hands  
"One is Miya and who is the other one?"  
"Jesus" Mikito got ticked off by Michiru's so called 'lame joke'  
"Sorry, I'm an Atheist." Mikito replied. Well, that silenced Michiru.

The blonde man walked away from the two Shadow Hunters, limping towards the exit. Michiru just didn't care anymore. He let everything go; anger, his stubbornness. Now, his heart is taking a hard blow, ripping it apart literally. "Hey guys, thanks for everything. You saved my life. Now I think I'm going home now." Michiru said, waving to them while keeping his face looking downward. He doesn't want them to see his current expression because he himself knows that it's always horrible when he's stressed out. Suddenly, Michiru remembered there is something he has to do. He quickly changed his direction to the port near the warehouse.

"Hey wait! Ack! Shit, it hurts, Miya!" Mikito yelled at the raven haired lass who was tending first aid on his wounds. Miya jumped at Mikito's sudden yelling and backed off, pulling out her pistols from their holsters, aiming them at Mikito.

"Holy shit! W-wait!" Mikito raised his arms in the air, alerting Miya. She doesn't seem to do it on purpose. "Miya is sorry. It's reflex."

Mikito lit up another cigar and put it in his mouth then said, "That Michiru guy. You think he's good enough?" Miya looked at the back of the Ahoge haired man who was standing at the seaside. The warehouse is located near the sea and is also in the same are with the port.

"Miya thinks so… But Michiru-san seems troubled." Miya implied while giving some finishing touches on Mikito's scarred face. Luckily the wounds weren't bad enough for Mikito. They're just scratches across his face, horizontally. Mikito exhaled some smoke while sighing simultaneously. "We'll just leave him alone for now. Where is our ride home?"

"They're already on the way. Miya already told them about Mikito's proposal."  
"Really? Well, that saves my work."

* * *

Back to Michiru, he's looking at the round moon before him. He tried to contain his tears but they just kept flowing out. Even Michiru himself couldn't describe his sorrow of losing the one he loved. In his right hand, he held a silver ring with a playful ornament adorned on it. Yes, it's the ring he was going to use to propose Midori. "Midori, now that you're gone, I don't think I need this anymore." He said as he stretched his arms above the sea water.

He thought of throwing it away then he's going to commit a suicide. He thought that it's the ending he wanted. He didn't think that it is out of ordinary because people say that when two lovebirds are together, they are happy; but when one of them dies, the other one will also die just to meet the lost loved ones. As Michiru loosened his grip on the ring, attempting to throw it away, he felt a sudden warmth on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned his body around just to see…

"Midori!"

At first he thought that he's dreaming but he wasn't. Midori, the woman he loved stood right in front of him, smiling her usual smile. For awhile Michiru felt like the heavy feelings in his heart disappeared but when he came to,

She's already gone…

Michiru sighed and put the ring inside his trench coat's pocket. "*sigh* you don't have to come specially to see me. It's as if you don't want me to throw this thing away, you know." For the first time since her death, Michiru smiled. Though it was a forced smile, he felt that Midori didn't want to see him weep anymore and the thought of that really made him happy. Midori came to see him for the last time.

"Okay, as you wish, I'll live on." Michiru muttered and walked back to the entrance. Just as he was about to leave, Mikito stopped him by dragging his arm back to the warehouse. "What the hell are you plotting?! Let me go!" Michiru protested.

"Going somewhere?" Mikito implied as he let go of Michiru's arm and crossed his arms afterwards. Michiru dusted his coat off and shifted his gaze between Mikito and Miya.

"Yeah, I'm going back to my place. Didn't I tell you that?" Michiru replied with a hint of annoyance. No one can keep me from going home, he thought.

"Sorry, but we can't allow that. And your place is being cleaned as we speak." Mikito said in a monotone manner.

"Cleaned?! What are you guys doing with my room?! Don't tell me there are more of you guys!" Michiru exclaimed; surprised at what Mikito said just now.

"Don't think that Shadow Hunting Department doesn't have anyone to support it. EWEPS exists to help us with our work. Eye Witness and Evidence Protection Service."

"Protecting my ass! You guys barged into my room without permission and that's crime!"

"Michiru-san, please listen..!" Miya exclaimed, aiming to calm Michiru down and that worked. Michiru sighed and put his hands inside his coat's pocket in defeat.

"They are professionals. They won't take anything from you I promise. Although they are officials, they still have several rules they have to obey, see? EWEPS only erases evidences regarding Shadows and protects eye witnesses. You must be wondering how do they protect eye witness, yes? Well, they…" Mikito cleared his throat before finishing his sentence but was cut by Miya saying, "They will erase Michiru-san's memories and replace them." The answer made Michiru gasped in surprise. Mikito sighed and smacked Miya in the head through the process.

"You don't have to be so direct, Majou!" MIkito grumbled.

"Y-yes, Miya is sorry, squad leader!" Miya rubbed her aching head with her hands and bowed frequently. "She isn't as emotionless as she looks." Michiru mumbled unconsciously but fortunately, they didn't hear it.

"They'll erase my memory? Wait, I don't get it. Why would they? And… Why are you telling me this in the first place? I don't want to get my memories erased. I-I don't want to forget anything! My last moment with her is going to be replaced by false memories!" Michiru asked the eyepatch wearing guy.

Mikito scratched his hair and shifted his eye from Michiru, said, "Actually, I don't want you to get your memories erased. So, on that purpose, I'm asking you. Will you join us?"

…

"What? So that's your purpose all along!" Michiru exclaimed and grabbed Mikito's jacket. Miya instantly grabbed Michiru's hands and take them away from Mikito.

"Please, listen to us until the end, Michiru-san." Miya pleaded as she slowly took her hands off Michiru's.

"Actually, to be honest, we humans are struggling in fighting these creatures so we need every fire power we could get. Alright, why don't you just think like this: 'the Shadows killed your woman and you hate them for it. So turn that hatred into power and unleash it against them.' I know you hate them right?" Mikito looked straight into Michiru's widened eyes. Michiru traced his eyes to the ground thinking to himself, looking deep into himself. His true feelings right now.

"I think you have a point there. So, what's there is for me if I say yes?" Michiru said, still not looking at either both of the Shadow Hunters.

"Humankind's salvation."

"Huh?" Michiru gasped at Mikito's statement. "Are you even serious about this?! What are you even talking about? All you do is fulfill your duty, so who are you to talk about something like that?! You don't understand ANYTHING!" Michiru stepped forward and looked Mikito in the eye. Though Michiru's acting hostile, Miya didn't act. She understood the situation of Michiru's mind. 'He's confused between dream and reality. He hated being the one that didn't do anything; that's just how Michiru-san is, he is stubborn' Miya thought to herself.

Mikito got ticked off as when Michiru snapped at him, resulting him to give a strong jab at Michiru's face, making him fell on his back. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! THROWING SOME TANTRUM AT US WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING! YOUR GIRLFRIEND WAS KILLED BY THE SHADOWS!" Mikito panted after his burst of frustration. Michiru stood back up, wiping some blood from his lips.

"You're wrong if you said I don't understand anything. I… no, me and Miya, we have seen things much worse than you did. Our squad, 66th force 6th Japanese branch division, the Dingo team, lost 3 of our best Hunters. They're my friends and one of them is Miya's brother. They died. We're not here because we like it. We are also like you, we have grudges against those beast. Although this tragedy is supposed to make the countries rise in arms, they still try to cover it, they only think of themselves. Doesn't this piss you off? Well, I do." Mikito lowered his voice and pointed a finger to Michiru.

"Will you fight with us? Michiru Nagase?" Mikito gave hand to Michiru, waiting for his response. Michiru sighed and keep looking at Miya and Mikito, back and forth. Finally, reaching his decision, he said in a low tone,

"I'm probably just a loser. I can't even handle a job for more than 3 weeks. But since I've just got fired so…" Michiru smiled and took Mikito's hand, continued, "…why not?"

Mikito and Miya's expression suddenly lightened up with Michiru's decision. It's like they've just seen gold at a middle of nowhere. Then, the sound of engine was heard, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with an emblem 'EWEPS' imprinted on it to be precise. Michiru looked at the black twin-engine chopper in awe as it lands. Seconds later, the door slid open, a party of 3 men in white HAZMAT suit and gas masks came out carrying a vacuum-like device and briefcases. One of them came up to Mikito and took off his mask, revealing his short brown hair.

"Good evening, I believe that you are Orbeye, yes?" the brown haired man shook hands with Mikito while the other guys ran into the warehouse, destroying the evidence such as annihilate the carcasses of the Fenrirs and Floyds the SDF and Hunters have slayed. Mikito gave out a fake laugh as a response.

"Yes, who do you might be?" Mikito asked back the EWEPS officer. The man dusted his suit and introduced himself,

"I am Hack, the captain of EWEPS's 4th Japanese division. It's an honor to meet the veteran of the failed Operation 'Big O'." The tidy looking man said and then glanced at the Dingo team for a second. Michiru personally disliked this person. He's speaking as if he is superior or something.

"… thank you for your 'praise' . You are using a code name I see..." the straight haired man said as he pulled out another cigarette from his green jacket's pocket and lit it up.

"Of course. It has been a tradition for us and for mercenary like you, right Orbeye? And it's also a tradition for EWEPS to clean the unnecessary evidence like him, don't you think?" Hack pointed at Michiru and ended up alerting him. "What's the meaning of this?" Michiru stepped back and whispered to Miya.

"Don't worry, as long as Michiru-san is with Miya and Mikito, everything will be okay." Miya whispered back. Her response seemed to be able to calm Michiru down. Hack walked up to Michiru and sniffed at him. The blonde seemed annoyed by this and pushed Hack away instinctively. Hack put a finger to his chin and looked at Mikito,

"So, this is the guy you want to recruit, eh, Orbeye?" Mikito nodded and then looked back at Michiru.

"Don't lay a hand on him. I'll handle him." Mikito leered hostilely at Hack which made him backed off, raising his hands.

"I won't. But are you sure? He doesn't look THAT dependable." Hack scoffed.

"We'll see about that. Let's move!" Mikito ordered the team to get onto the chopper. Miya followed him from behind while dragging Michiru's arm.

As they got onto the chopper, Michiru questioned Mikito and Miya. "So, where are we headed?"

"Tokyo. Shadow Hunting Department Japanese branch center to be exact. You'll like it there." Mikito chuckled dryly. Michiru raised his eyebrows and looked outside from the window as the chopper flew, leaving Mikura city.

Out of the blue, Miya struck up a conversation, "Mikito, Miya doesn't like that Hack person." She said while sucking on her lollipop. Mikito suddenly stopped what's he's doing, that is reloading his Mauser and rolled his eyes, said, "I don't like him either. But we can't just beat him buck-ass naked 'cuz we kind of owe him one you know. We can't ride home without this chopper."

"Miya understands but just don't like him."

"Actually I am thinking about the same thing, Miya. There is this asshole general manager at the place I used to work for and he's being such a jackass. That Hack guy kind of reminded me of him." Michiru implied but soon smiled after then. He still remembered what happened back there. Midori came to him. It made him happy but…

…hurt as well.

But no, he won't weep anymore. Michiru bit his lip, trying to suck it up. If he had to lie to himself, so be it. He didn't want to think of Midori's death anymore; he got his mind focused on one thing right now.

I WILL KILL THOSE SHADOWS

Haha, everytime he thinks like that, it makes him feel really stupid. Just hours ago, he thought of himself as a loser but now? He thought of saving the world, killing some abomination beasts. But that's just it. it is his reality now. He had to accept it.

"They could've caught Michiru-san and erase his memories. But why they didn't? It could make them go through some trouble so why are they willing to let Michiru-san go?" Miya inquired the smoking Mikito.

Mikito exhaled some smokes and scoffed, "They don't have enough badges to control us." Then, an unexpected side of Miya was exposed. She giggled like a normal girl will do which surprised Michiru.

* * *

**Tokyo, S.H.D Japanese branch central**

* * *

"Welcome to the Japanese SHD HQ." the intercom announced as the chopper landed on the roof of the tall building. Michiru looked around at amazement on how luxurious the building was. Miya however, hopped off the chopper and jumped around like a 5th grader while screaming, "I'm home!" Michiru scratched the back of his head at the sight.

"Damn, Miya! Just stop loitering around the roof and get over here!" Mikito yelled, acting like a boss. Miya then pouted and made Michiru laughed.

The group walked down the stairs and proceeded into the elevator which took them to 5th floor. The building was 15 stories tall with the label 'SSC' assembled at the roof and were lit up brightly. At first, Michiru wondered what does SSC stand for and finally he gets it from Mikito. SSC stands for 'Science Search Centre'. Well, they of course need some disguise if they don't want to be exposed especially in this 'flashy' building.

"We're here." Mikito informed. Their feet brought themselves into some kind of a lab and they pushed Michiru inside of an office, alone. There, he met a middle-aged man with dark brown eyes, long wavy brown hair, and a goatee. He wore a tan jacket over his brown turtleneck. He wore glasses and was sitting on a comfy spin chair.

"Ah, I've received information that you will come, Michiru Nagase. Please have a seat." Michiru immediately sat on a blue chair right infront of the office desk on an immediate notice and was offered a cup of coffee which he accepted.

"My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, head of Technology Development section. I believe that you have understood the basic information on Shadows so there's no need for further explanation. Have you prepared your insurance, Michiru Nagase?" Ikutsuki said with his glazed eyes looking at Michiru.

"Insurance? For what?"  
"As you can see, for you to officialy join the Hunting team, you will need a PERSONA and you know what are PERSONAs made of?"  
"Shadows?"  
"Exactly! So that's why I asked whether you prepared your life insurance. Your life could be in danger at the process."  
"Process of what? Obtaining PERSONA?"

Ikutsuki stood up and gestured Michiru to follow him somewhere. The Ahoge male was fidgeting. He didn't know what's waiting for him there so he'd better prepare for the worst outcome.

The middle-aged man opened a door to a small room which seemed isolated from others. "Welcome to the Chamber of Awakening, lad." Ikutsuki made a rather unpleasant welcome greeting for Michiru. He stepped into the room and observed it thoroughly. There was a hi-tech computer-like device which was located not far from a metal desk where all medical tools are laid. At the center, there is a chair with lots of belts on every section. It reminded Michiru of a torture chamber.

"So, this is the place?" Michiru guessed. Ikutsuki gave a simple 'yes' and asked Michiru to sit on the chair. Ikutsuki held out an injection which contained black colored liquid. Ikutsuki then approached him then, said,

"Do you know what this is?"  
"It looks like those fluids coming out of Shadows."  
"Yep, that's right. We call these liquids, **Shadow Gene.**"

Then, suddenly, Mikito and several other armed soldiers came barging onto the room, pointing their weapons at Michiru. "Whoa-whoa! What's going on here?" Michiru exclaimed.

"I can't give you a specific clue but I'm going to inject this into your artery and let the Shadow Gene infect you." Ikutsuki smiled a mad scientist style and resulted Michiru to feel more uncomfortable.

"Infect me? You are making me a Shadow?!"

"That's how it looks like but actually, it doesn't. You know that the Shadow Gene prioritizes on attacking human's nerve systems and brains? That's where you come in. You'll get your mind disturbed and enter your subconscious. Now to obtain a PERSONA, you HAVE to find the Shadow parasite that's invading your mind and kill it. Be careful, don't let it control you or kill you or else…"

"I'll turn into a Shadow. That's a two edged blade. In other word an all-or-nothing gamble, huh. But how can I kill the Shadow?"

Mikito then sneered at Michiru, "Sorry, noob, you have to find your own way."

"Hey, I'm dead serious here!" Michiru's about to stood up when 3 soldiers put him back to the chair and tied him with the belts. Michiru tried to struggle but no avail.

"We're here to prevent unwanted accident you hear me, Michiru? Or worst scenario is we have to kill you. So stay alive, GODSPEED." Mikito saluted.

"Hey, motherfu-" before Michiru finished his sentence, Ikutsuki impaled Michiru's skin with the injection and the Shadow Gene flowed through Michiru's blood.

"Shall we begin, gentlemen?"

_**To Be Continued…**_

Next Issue: "Awakened 2"

* * *

**Thank you for all your supports people. Your review really helped me. First of all, I'm sorry for the late update. And secondly, I must apologize if you find some incorrectness regarding grammar and spelling or typos. Really, I'm sorry for that. After seeing this chapter, what do you say? Any urge to hit the review button? See ya!**

**Masaru down and out**

**Ciao!**


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